Despite a clarification issued by the Akal Takht via video message late Thursday that only Badal had been debarred from contesting elections and the prohibition did not extend to the entire party, the party has chosen to stick to its decision of not contesting the bypolls.
Confirming the development, SAD general secretary Dr Daljit Singh Cheema told ThePrint Friday that there was no change in the party’s decision since Thursday.
“Party leaders feel it will not be ethically or morally right for the SAD to participate in elections when their president was not leading them. It is an extraordinary situation but the decision was unanimous. Apart from the working president of the party, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, who chaired the meeting, all senior leaders including district presidents and assembly in-charges were present and were united in the decision,” said Cheema.
This is the first time in the past three decades that the SAD has decided to stay away from an election. In 1992, the party had boycotted the Punjab assembly elections.
Cheema said he was aware that the decision would lead to demoralisation of the party’s cadre and may also dent its image, but it was better that the party bear the brunt than lower the dignity of the Akal Takht.
“We cannot lower the dignity of the institution of the Akal Takht. It is the Akal Takht which has declared Badal a tankhaiya. The decision to debar him is also the takht’s. Badal, as also all former cabinet ministers, have apologised to the Akal Takht,” he said.
He added: “However, we cannot isolate Badal from the rest of the party as the decisions taken by him for which he has been declared a tankhaiya were not taken in his personal capacity but as the head of the party. Badal has taken the entire responsibility of those collective decisions on his shoulders, like a family elder, and that does not mean that now the family will let him down and contest elections, while he watches from the sidelines.”
Badal was declared a sinner of the Sikh community this August and his status continues to be that of a sinner, pending the declaration of a punishment from the Akal Takht. Only after he has fulfilled the punishment can he be freed from the tag of tankhaiya.
Bypolls are to be held on 13 November to the assembly seats of Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak, Chabbewal and Barnala. Friday was the last date of filing of nominations. The bypolls were necessitated after these seats were vacated following the victory of sitting MLAs in the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year.
Also Read: Badal relents, seeks forgiveness for ‘mistakes’. Akali rebels say will wait for Akal Takht decision
Akal Takht & jathedar under cloud
The SAD’s decision not to contest the elections has once again brought it in contention with the Akal Takht, with senior party members questioning the time being taken by the body to declare a punishment for Badal.
“There seems to be a well-planned move to isolate Badal from the party, intending to make him irrelevant. I am not questioning the decisions of the Akal Takht, which is a respected body, but such delays without any valid explanation can lead to misunderstandings. Already questions have been raised at the independent functioning of one of the jathedars (central head),” a senior SAD leader told ThePrint, not willing to be named.
Earlier this month, senior SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha questioned the independence of Giani Harpreet Singh, the jathedar of Takth Damdama Sahib, one of the five seats of authority of the Sikhs.
Giani Singh is among the five jathedars who collectively take decisions concerning the Sikh community. The Akal Takht at the Golden Temple in Amritsar is considered the first among equals in this group.
Valtoha had alleged that Giani Singh was working at the behest of the BJP and RSS, which were using religious institutions to deplete the authority of the SAD.
Protesting against the allegations, on 16 October, Giani Singh resigned from his position and alleged that Valtoha had threatened him and his family members “including his daughters”.
In a video message, the jathedar said that Valtoha was being supported by some “third-class leaders” of the SAD, apart from the party’s social media team.
Giani Raghubir Singh, jathedar of the Akal Takht, has provided support to Giani Harpreet Singh, ordering the SAD to remove Valtoha from the party for 10 years, while asking the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee not to accept the resignation of the jathedar.
Abiding by the order of the Akal Takht, the SAD acted against Valtoha.
Talking to mediapersons Thursday, Valtoha said: “When I had attended a meeting of the senior leaders of the SAD on 13 October (prior to expulsion), it was decided that Sukhbir Badal would contest from one of the four seats.”
‘SAD hand-in-glove with BJP’
Tensions between the Akal Takht and the SAD have continued to simmer, leading to jathedar Raghubir Singh this week debarring Badal from contesting polls.
Senior SAD leader and former revenue minister Bikram Singh Majithia told the media Thursday that although the party had decided not to contest elections, in his personal view the polls should have been contested.
“Our workers and the cadre are active and charged enough to contest elections. Although our party president Sukhbir Badal would not be able to campaign, which will be a handicap, elections should be contested,” he said.
The SAD’s decision has been met with widespread criticism from political opponents.
Congress’ Punjab president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring told mediapersons Thursday that he always knew the party would run away from the contest because it had no chance of winning.
“If there is no ban on the party contesting, why are other leaders not in the fray? The SAD has always been hand-in-glove with the BJP and this move is aimed to ensure that the BJP benefits,” he alleged.
Leader of the opposition Partap Singh Bajwa Friday said the people of Punjab needed to understand what was going on.
“The Akali Dal has withdrawn from the elections, the Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar has also not fielded any candidate and some of the hardliners have also withdrawn their candidature. It is clear that the field has been left open for the BJP,” Bajwa told the media.
Charanjit Singh Brar, spokesperson of Akali Dal Sudhar Lehar, a breakaway faction of the SAD, said Thursday that it was unfortunate that the SAD had come to mean only one person.
“It is a matter of shame for the leaders of the SAD that they have decided not to contest election for the sake of only one person. This is the state of the Akali Dal now,” he told reporters.
“The SAD has completely finished itself and committed electoral harakiri,” he added.
Addressing a press conference Friday, Aam Aadmi Party MP Malvinder Singh Kang said the Badal family had brought the SAD to a position that the two had become synonyms.
“The Akali Dal was created 100 years ago as a sacred party that had participated in the freedom struggle of India, and look where it has been brought by the Badals,” said Kang.
“When the Badals were in power, they used to summon the jathedars to their house and now when they want to run away from the elections, they are again using the jathedar of the Akal Takht and hiding behind him,” said Kang.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
